


Heaven Under Water

by idraax



Series: Fragments from the Ether [4]
Category: Sekai-ichi Hatsukoi
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-12-06
Updated: 2013-12-05
Packaged: 2018-01-03 14:55:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1071776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/idraax/pseuds/idraax
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>All Ritsu wanted to do was go over Muto sensei's storyboard. He didn't want it to turn out like this. AU</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> You remember that scene where Takano pretty much forces himself on Ritsu...well this was a what-if spring from that. I had an outline for this, but sadly I'll never finish this fic. If you'd like to continue it, message me and I'll give you the outline.

_Thump._

Ritsu's back hit the wall as Takano kissed him and the smell of beer wafted around them. The breath vanished from his lungs as Takano's hands slid under his shirt. Takano moved downwards to nip at his neck and one of his hands started to undo Ritsu's belt. Ritsu gasped for air that wouldn't come.

 

"S-stop it!"

 

Takano ignored him and tossed the belt aside. Then, he pulled down the zipper. Ritsu jolted at the sound and shoved Takano. Takano stumbled onto one knee and dragged Ritsu's pants down his hips. The smell got stronger and the wall felt like it was made of gravel. The room seemed to darken and the sound of traffic got stronger.  Ritsu shook and something coiled itself around his heart.

 

"You want this," Takano said and Ritsu remembered.

 

_"I know you've been wanting this for a long time now Ritsu." Vincent's hands were on his wrists and he was kissing his way down Ritsu's chest._

_"I don't! Get off me!"_

 

_"No" Vincent shifted his hips and Ritsu tried to twist away. "You're pretty like this." Vincent came up to kiss him and Ritsu tried to bite his tongue._

_Vincent growled. "That's very mean of you Ritsu. Here I am trying to give you what you want and you go and try to bite me."_

_"I don't want this!"_

_Vincent grinned. "Yes, you do." He whispered before kissing Ritsu again._

 

Ritsu wasn't going to let that happen again. By this point, Takano was slipping his hand into Ritsu's underwear. Ritsu gave him a violent shove and Takano stumbled backwards.

 

"The hell?" Takano sounded surprised and angry. Ritsu stared at him panting. Hastily, Ritsu zipped his pants and grabbed his belt. Takano pushed himself off the floor and stepped towards him. Ritsu stepped backwards and put his belt on. "Onodera?" Takano's voice sounded concerned. Ritsu knew that was a lie. Ritsu tugged his shirt down and began to walk backwards towards the door. He wasn't going to let Takano out of his sight. Takano reached for him and Ritsu yanked the door open.

 

"I'll talk to you about Mutou-sensei's storyboards later." Ritsu's voice shook and he shook violently, causing his fingers to slide down the door handle. He took a breath. _Get out before you collapse._ "I'll see you at work. Goodbye." He hurried past a surprised Yokozawa.

 

"Onodera wait!"

 

Ritsu ignored him and rummaged through his bag for the apartment key. He found it and unlocked the door with hands that wouldn't stop shaking. The lock clicked and Ritsu pulled the door open . He jumped through and slammed the door shut behind him. Quickly he locked it, stumbled into the hallway and collapsed.

 

 

 

The next day, Ritsu did his best to avoid Takano. Unfortunately, Takano seemed intent on talking to him. Ritsu sighed and splashed his face with some water. He had managed to give Takano the slip and was now hiding in the restroom. I wanna go back to bed.  His head hurt and he felt groggy. _Stupid Takano-san, making me remember._  He let out a sigh and turned the tap off. Focus on work Ritsu. _Focus on work and everything will be fine._ He dried his face and cautiously crept into the hallway.

 

"Hiding from someone?" Yokozawa's voice came from behind him. Ritsu jumped.

 

"N-no! I was just-"

 

"Save it. I wanted to tell you one thing."

 

Ritsu blinked. He didn't like the sound of this. "What is it?"

 

"Stay away from Masamune."

 

Ritsu's head thumped the wall. "I'll try my best."

 

Yokozawa huffed and leaned against the opposite wall. "You shouldn't have come here in the first place."

 

Ritsu looked away. "It's not like I wanted to be editing shojo manga. I got stuck here and I can't transfer until after a year. "

 

Yokozawa snorted. "Fine, just try to stay away from him."

 

"I will," Ritsu snapped and stomped off, only to bump into Takano.

 

"Onodera!"

 

"I just remembered, I have to take another look at Mutou-sensei's storyboard. I'll talk to you later!" He hurried past Takano, but Takano grabbed his arm. Ritsu gasped and tried to twist his arm out of Takano's grip.

 

"Let me go!"

 

"No" Takano's grip tightened. "We need to talk."

 

"Masamune" Yokozawa held a file out to him. "Those surveys you wanted." Takano took the file and his grip loosened. Ritsu slipped his arm out of his grasp and stepped backwards. Immediately, Takano grabbed his arm again.

 

"Wait"

 

"I'm sorry, I really have to go look at that storyboard. We'll talk later!" Ritsu tugged his arm free and hurried down the hall.

 

"Onodera wait!" Takano took a step forward. Yokozawa stopped him with a hand on his arm.

 

"Did you forget, we have a meeting in five minutes. You don't have time for this." Takano huffed, but turned away. He opened the file and started walking.

 

"Let's go." 


	2. Chapter 2

_Time skip: 4 days later_

 

 

Ritsu sighed and marked another part of Mutou-sensei's storyboard in red.  His head throbbed and the tones blurred together. The fax machine buzzed, sending a spike of pain through his head. Ritsu put the storyboard down and got up to see what had come through.

He picked up a storyboard from the machine. It looked to be one of Ichinose-sensei's from the art. Ritsu placed it on Takano's desk and turned back to his own. The room dipped a little and he stumbled. Quickly, he caught himself on the edge of the desk and plopped down heavily into his chair. He rubbed his head and dug around in his bag for a bottle of painkillers. _  
_

_I remember the last time I had a migraine like this was when Vincent and I-_ Ritsu cut that thought off. He didn't want to think of him. He popped the cap open and swallowed a pill. _Maybe I should close my eyes for a bit, just until the pill starts to work._

 

 

"Onodera, has Ichinose's storyboard come in yet? Onodera?" Takano strode into the office carrying several files. He set them down on his desk and picked up the storyboard. "Did you make copies of this? Onodera?" He frowned when he didn't get an answer. _Where the hell did he go?_

Takano shifted some paperwork that was lying on the floor. The piles of paper were deep enough to hide a person, but Ritsu wasn't under them. Takano huffed and stood up, catching a glimpse of Ritsu lying on the table with his head on his arms. Takano smiled softly. "There you are." He picked up a ruler and was about to throw it at Ritsu's head when Ritsu whimpered and muttered something that sounded a lot like no. Takano shrugged and threw the ruler at him. "Wake up Onodera."

 

The minute the ruler hit him, Ritsu shot up and his eyes darted around the room, unseeing. Takano sucked in a breath. He didn't like the expression on Ritsu's face. It was one full of fear. Carefully, he moved forward and grabbed Ritsu's wrists. They shook under him and Ritsu flinched.

 

"Stop it," he whispered. Takano brought his hands up to cup Ritsu's cheeks.

 

"What's wrong?" He said in the gentlest tone he could summon. Ritsu shook harder and stared through him.

 

<I'm sorry, I don't feel that way about you Vincent.> Takano's eyes widened. Ritsu had said that in English. Gently Takano brought his hands to Ritsu's shoulders and shook him.

 

"Come on Onodera, snap out of it!"

 

Ritsu brought his hands up to Takano's chest and shoved lightly. <I'm leaving now.>

 

Takano moved back. What was that thing about sleepwalkers again? Were you supposed to wake them up? He stepped to the side as Ritsu moved past him. However, he moved to block Ritsu's way when he headed in the direction of the elevator.  "Onodera, wait!"

 

<I don't want to stay around you when you're drunk!> Ritsu snapped and pressed the down button.

 

Good thing there's not a lot of people in the building at night. Takano grabbed his shoulders and shook him. "Snap out of it Onodera!"

 

<Stop it!> Ritsu shoved him. Takano stumbled backwards, but quickly regained his footing. He took a step forward and pinned Ritsu to the wall. Ritsu screamed and tried to throw him off, causing them to slide to the floor. <I  don't want to do this with you! I don't love you Vincent! Get off!>  Ritsu clawed at him, making little rips in Takano's sleeves. <You're drunk Vincent! I don't want this.> He was crying, Takano realized and was about to get off him, when Ritsu whispered something that made his heart twist. <H-help me sempai>

 

Takano swallowed the worry that threatened to drown him.  _What do I do?_ Ritsu was staring through him again and Takano felt something heavy settle in his chest.

 

"Ritsu" His worried voice must have reached something in Ritsu, because Ritsu's eyes focused on him. Encouraged, Takano kept speaking. "Come on Ritsu, wake up."

 

Ritsu blinked and the glaze in his eyes vanished. "T-Takano-san? Did I fall asleep?"

 

Takano sighed in relief. "You were sleepwalking. It took a while to wake you up."

 

Ritsu got to his feet, laughing nervously. "Sorry about that. I haven't been sleeping well lately. Er...did I say anything…? I tend to talk and sleepwalk so…"

 

Takano ran his fingers through his hair. "You had a nightmare…about someone named Vincent."

 

Ritsu's eyes widened and his breath hitched. He took a step back. Takano's right hand shot out to catch his.

 

"Who's Vincent, Ritsu?"

 

Ritsu shook at the use of his first name. Takano had said it in that tone. Takano stepped closer and Ritsu's back hit the wall. 

 

"Who is he Ritsu?"

 

Ritsu took a breath. Suddenly, there wasn't enough air in the room and every breath felt like it was full of knives.

 

"Someone I want to forget." Ritsu's voice trembled. "Please don't ask me about him." Surprised Takano stepped back and Ritsu took the opportunity to put some distance between them. "Please, please don't make me remember Takano-san. I can't deal with it." Not giving Takano time to answer, he fled.

 

Ritsu huddled against the side of the vending machine, shaking. His lungs hurt and he gasped for breath. A few tears dropped to the floor and Ritsu brought his hands up to scrub furiously at his eyes.

_I thought I was over this already! Why is affecting me so much?_ He clasped his hands over his eyes and squeezed.  Even with his eyes closed, it felt like the world was seesawing every which way. _I need to get out of here._  He felt tired, like he was going to merge with the floor. _Maybe just a few more minutes._

 

"...richan…richan"

 

There was someone shaking him. Ritsu blinked and rubbed his eyes.  Kisa and Mino were staring at him. Kisa had a concerned expression on his face and Mino was smiling as usual.

 

"You really shouldn't sleep here, Ritsu-chan. It's bad for your health." Mino said cheerfully, extending a hand towards Ritsu. 

 

"Yeah...I guess I was really tired." Ritsu took the hand and Mino pulled him to his feet. Ritsu let go and brushed the dust off his clothes.

 

"...are you alright richan? Your eyes are red." The frown on Kisa's face hadn't gone away and as he examined Ritsu, it deepened.

 

Ritsu sighed and stretched, popping his back and making both Kisa and Mino wince. "I'm just stressed."

 

Kisa smiled and leaned forward. "You could always talk to us!"

 

Ritsu stepped back, a little intimidated. "Er...no thank you."

 

"Well, how about writing your problems down instead." Mino suggested.

 

Ritsu blinked. "Like in a journal?"

 

Mino nodded and Ritsu sighed. "I've never been good at keeping those," he muttered.

 

If possible, Mino's smile widened. "You could always write them in a story form. I had friends who did that. It really helped."

 

Ritsu shrugged. "It's worth a try. Thanks Mino-san."

 

Kisa looked at the clock and freaked. "Takano-san will be here any minute! We have to go!" He grabbed Ritsu's arm and tugged him out the door. Mino grabbed their coffee and followed.

 

 

_Ryu stared at the man in front of him. This was his boss?  He was unshaven, had on wrinkled clothes and reeked._

_"Er...nice to meet you. I'm Kudo Ryu. " Ryu bowed and then looked at the man expectantly. The man yawned and straightened up._

_"Tanako Haru. Do you know anything about literature?"_

_Ryu shook his head. "Sorry, I used to work in the shojo manga department at my last company."_

_Haru snorted. "Useless" He got out of his chair and stretched, making his back pop like a champagne bottle.  "Great they send me a newbie that I have to train. At least you're no stranger to hard work and long nights. " He pointed to a pile of paper in the far corner of the room. "You can take the desk under those papers. Put your stuff there and follow me."_

_Ryu nodded and hurried to do as he was told. His new boss seemed scary and he didn't want  to get on his bad side. Already he was starting to regret transferring here._

Ritsu signed and leaned back against the cushions. Mino's suggestion was really helping. Already, he was starting to feel better.  Lazily, he cast a glance at the clock only to bolt upright in shock. It was midnight; he had been writing for three hours. If he stopped now and went to bed, he'd have a decent night's sleep before he had to get up. _Maybe just a bit more.This is really fun._   He turned back to the laptop and started tapping away.

 


	3. Chapter 3

Takano Masamune was stuck. Ichinose-sensei's storyboard was in front of him, but he couldn't summon up the will to edit it. His mind flashed back to yesterday and the fear that was on Ritsu's face. Suddenly, Takano felt sharp, killing intent rise up within him.  He wanted to find this 'Vincent' guy and- _And do what exactly?_ Takano couldn't think of any decent ideas on how to torture someone. _I wonder if I can ask one of Japun's editors. This stuff's in Shounen right?_ He regretted having not picked up a Shounen manga in years, having been too focused on Shojo. His eyes drifted over to Ritsu, who was struggling to stay awake. _Now what should I use? The ruler or volume one of Heart Sweet?_

Ritsu's head bobbed and he was struggling to stay awake. The computer screen blurred between white and purple and he thought he saw the kanji walking off the screen.  A sudden burst of pain made Ritsu's head snap up and he turned to glare at Takano.

"Stop slacking Onodera! The deadline is tomorrow."

"I'm waiting for the storyboard Takano-san." Ritsu said, careful to keep the exhaustion from appearing in his voice. "I'm writing the book proposal right now. Would you take a look when I'm done please?"

Takano's glare faltered and Ritsu inwardly cheered. He turned back to the proposal and fiddled with the pen in his hands. Takano huffed, but turned his attention away from Ritsu and towards his own work.  Ritsu rubbed at his eyes and tried to focus. _As soon as I finish this I can get some coffee._

 

Finally, finally, Ritsu was finished with the proposal. Takano was looking it over and as soon as that was finished, he could go home. Ritsu dropped his head into his palms and something slammed into the bookshelf behind him. Ritsu turned to glare at Takano and a flurry of multicolored lights burst inside his head. He moaned and squeezed his eyes shut. It didn't help and a rapid pulsing started in his head.

"Onodera?" Takano's voice was uncharestically soft, but it still vibrated loudly inside his head.

_I'm probably sleep deprived_ , Ritsu thought dimly as the world started to twist into all sorts of funny shapes.  Something warm was near him and Ritsu leaned into it. The flat surface beneath him rippled and the fabric wrinkle. _Why am I on the carpet?_ He nuzzled into it. It didn't feel like carpet. It felt very much like...cotton.

Ritsu threw himself back into the bookshelf. "S-sorry, Takano-san!"

Takano laughed and then frowned. "When was the last time you slept?"

Ritsu shrugged. "Yesterday…I think."

"Properly?"

"I don't know"

Takano sighed and rubbed his forehead with his right hand. "Go home."

"W-what?"

"You're useless like this Onodera. Go home, get some sleep and come in again tomorrow morning."

Ritsu gave him a shocked look. "But the proposal…and the manuscripts need to be edited!"

Takano folded his arms over his chest and gave him a glare.  "You're useless like this Onodera. Go home."

"But!"

Takano tapped a foot on the carpet. "Either you go home and get some sleep or I fire you right now."

Ritsu's lips thinned and he towards his desk. "Fine"

"Good. I'll be checking up on you later."

 

 

Ritsu sighed and slumped into the sofa. Takano had sent him home and Ritsu knew that Takano was right even if he didn't want to admit it. His eyelids drooped and his head fell to his chest. The motion nearly caused him to topple over. His eyes snapped open and he brought a hand up to rub at his eyes as he righted himself on the sofa. It wasn't that he didn't want to sleep, he couldn't. Every time he'd try, the memories would rise further to the surface and he'd snap awake in the twilight hours. So, he simply gave up on sleep. Then he'd turn on his laptop and put his nightmares down, in story format. Mino's suggestion was working wonders. So, he bypassed sleep altogether and got to work on his story.

 

_Ryu hated his boss. He was an arrogant, crazy, slave-driver and Ryu wondered what he had done to get stuck with him._

_Why did I want this job in the first place? Ryu asked himself as he struck out another line from Kida-sensei's manuscript._

_Because you wanted to prove yourself, that's why, his mind answered him. "I should have picked a different job," he muttered and managed to doge the dictionary that came speeding towards his head._

_"Oi! Stop slacking Kudo! Why aren't you done with that manuscript yet?" His boss yelled at him. Ryu rolled his eyes._

_"The text's too small. I can barely read this."_

_"Then get yourself glasses," Tanako snapped from behind him. "Shojo manga couldn't have damaged your eyesight that badly."_

_"I don't know boss, some of the stuff that mangaka's draw is..."_

_Ryu turned to look at the person who spoke. He was Kenshi, if Ryu remembered correctly. This was confirmed when Tanako yelled at him to get to work. Kenshi merely yawned and pulled another page of his manuscript towards him._

_"Don't worry too much about Tanako-san. If you really need help, he'll help. He might grumble a lot while doing it, but he'll do it."_

_"I hope so." Ryu sighed and bent over to peruse the manuscript again._

 

Ritsu pushed himself away from his laptop and stretched. A few of his joints popped and he twisted his neck to look at the clock that hung on the opposite wall. 5:00 p.m. Takano had made him leave in the middle of the day. _I wonder if Takano-san told the truth about why I left. Yokozawa-san will see this as another reason as to why I shouldn't be around Takano-san...not that I want to be!_

Ritsu got up from the chair and walked into the kitchen. He opened the fridge only to find it empty. When was the last time I went grocery shopping? I'll have to get something from the convenience store, again. He picked up his keys from the hook by the front door and grabbed his coat. He opened the door, only to find Takano standing in front of it, with his hand raised to knock.

"Onodera"

"Hello Takano-san, what are you doing here?"

Surprise flitted across Takano's face, before it fell into its near-perpetual frown. _I'll have to keep him off balance long enough for me to get away._

"I wanted to see if you got any sleep Onodera." He scrutinized Ritsu and his frown deepened. "You were supposed to have slept Onodera."

Ritsu shrugged. "I got hungry." _Ok, this has to be the lack of sleep talking. This isn't like me!_

"Come over, I'll make you dinner."

"No thank you, I have food."

Takano threw his head back and laughed. Ritsu glared at him. "Come on Onodera, you really expect me to believe that? You haven't been home long enough to buy food."

Ritsu folded his arms and gave him the best glare he could. "T-that's not true! I have a few convenience store meals left."

Takano gave him a look full of pity. "That's not real food Onodera." He took Ritsu's arm and Ritsu flinched and jerked out of his grasp. Takano blinked and then grabbed Ritsu's arm again and tugged him out of the doorway.

"I'm not going anywhere with you", Ritsu snapped and turned to lock the door. Takano hugged him and he froze, every muscle in his body tensing and tightening. Ritsu knew that Takano had felt the sudden tension, because the arms around him loosened slightly. Takano sighed and his breath stirred the hairs on the back of Ritsu's neck and Ritsu shivered.

"Why do you flinch from me?" Takano asked softly.

Ritsu's heart tripled its beat.

"I told you," he said, voice tight with tension, "that I didn't want to remember."

"What did I do?"

Ritsu's hands tightened around the doorknob and the keys. Takano had used that tone again, the one that always made him want to give in and tell Takano things that he wanted to keep denying for as long as he can.

"You keep touching me..." Ritsu swallowed. _Am I really wanting to admit this to him?_

"Touching?"

Ritsu took a deep breath. _He won't back off unless I tell him._ "You touch me in ways I don't like. Is it any wonder that I flinch from you." He's read the psychology books, all of which told him that this reaction was normal. He wondered if Takano had read them too.

Takano laughed and tried to kiss the back of Ritsu's neck. Ritsu pressed himself flat against the door to avoid that. "I told you, Ritsu, that I would make you mine again. You know you enjoy it."

Ritsu twisted and flung him off. Takano landed on the floor with a heavy thump. Ritsu felt as if he was watching the scene from a distant place. There was a howling in his ears and Takano's face overlapped with Vincent's.

"You're like him," he whispered with such revulsion that it made Takano flinch. "I had hoped-" He broke off and turned to unlock the door. "I'll see you at work tomorrow Takano-san." The lock clicked and he wrenched the door open. The door whispered shut behind him and Takano was left in the hallway, wondering what just happened.

 

Whatever was going with Onodera worried him. He was like a frightened rabbit, jumping at each and every shadow. It wasn't just with him either. He had flinched when Kisa had brushed past him, trying to get at the books that were on the topmost shelf. Takano wondered if Kisa had noticed anything odd about it. He sighed and stirred the soup one last time before turning off the stove and pouring the soup into a container. He wrote a quick note before putting the soup in front of Ritsu's door and ringing the doorbell before hurrying back to his own apartment.

The door squeaked open and Ritsu peeked his head out, glancing sideways in rapid succession like a prairie dog. Seeing that the hallway was empty, he opened the door a little wider and stuck out a foot, only to be stopped by the container of soup that stood on his doorstep. He blinked at it, before bending down and picking it up with one hand, the other still on the doorknob. It sloshed a little and the note that was on top of it, was dragged down to the ground. Ritsu closed the door, put the soup on the side table with the glass dish that held several bottles of aspirin and ibuprofen. Then he re-opened the door, glanced both ways again and picked up the note.

 

It read-

 

_Ritsu,_

_I'm sorry for earlier. I have no wish to be like this 'him' you mentioned and I will  find him and make sure that he never hurts you again. I'll stop touching you, but please reconsider. I like touching you and I don't know how I can make you fall in love with me without touching you._

 

-Takano Masamune

 

Ritsu rolled his eyes. _He just doesn't know when to give up. I don't want to fall in love with him again and I'll never fall in love with him again!'_ He crumpled up the note, shut the door and glared at the container of soup. As much as he didn't want to eat anything that Takano made, he was hungry and it looked very good…

He groaned, picked it up and went in search for a spoon. _I hate to admit this, but Takano-san's cooking is pretty good. I'll have to tell him it tasted horrible when I see him next._ He knew it was mean of him, but anything to get Takano to back off and leave him alone.

He found a spoon that had dried streaks of white upon its surface. He had forgotten to wash it after he had eaten the cup of strawberry flavored yoghurt, which he was sure had passed its expiration date, earlier. He tossed it in the sink and found a plastic conbini store spoon that looked untouched. He opened the container and took a sip. It was traditional miso soup. T _akano-san always makes the best miso soup._ He took a sip and let out a deep sigh. Then he very-nearly inhaled the soup as he was ravenous. It was gone in a few minutes.

Once he was finished, he washed the container. He had wanted to give it back to Takano to wash, but he wasn't raised that way. _Might as well wash the spoon too and the plates.._ Soon, all of his dishes were washed and set aside to dry. Then, he opened up his laptop and added to his story-journal. _I should print this out, so I can edit it._ He never did like the online editing programs, always preferring a physical copy and a red pen. 


End file.
